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Quickstart

This page takes you from a built checkout to a first recorded session.

1. Create the config file​

cp steamlogger.example.toml steamlogger.toml

Open steamlogger.toml and fill in the two required keys:

steamlogger.toml
api_key = "YOUR_STEAM_API_KEY"   # required
steam_id = 76561198000000000     # required, numeric SteamID64 (no quotes)

poll_interval_secs = 30          # optional, default 30 (values below 5 are clamped to 5)
output_file = "steamlog.json"    # optional, default "steamlog.json"
enrich = true                    # optional, default true

Prefer not to put secrets in a file? Both required keys can come from the environment instead:

export STEAMLOGGER_API_KEY=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
export STEAMLOGGER_STEAM_ID=76561198000000000

The file must still exist — it may contain only optional keys, or nothing at all. Full rules in the configuration reference.

2. Run it​

cargo run --release
SteamLogger running. Log file: steamlog.json  (Ctrl+C to stop)

By default the config is read from steamlogger.toml in the current working directory. Pass a path to override it:

cargo run --release -- /etc/steamlogger/config.toml
# or, with an installed binary:
steamlogger ~/.config/steamlogger/config.toml

3. Launch a game​

Start any game from Steam and wait one poll interval. The log file appears next to the binary (or wherever output_file points) with the session already open:

steamlog.json — session in progress
{
  "games": [
    {
      "name": "Team Fortress 2",
      "start": "2026-08-10T14:32:15-03:00",
      "map": "cp_dustbowl",
      "server": "Team Fortress 2 #42",
      "friends_playing": ["medicmain99"],
      "friends_in_lobby": ["medicmain99"]
    }
  ]
}

While a session is open there is no end field — optional fields are omitted rather than written as null. When you quit the game, the next poll closes the entry:

steamlog.json — session closed
{
  "games": [
    {
      "name": "Team Fortress 2",
      "start": "2026-08-10T14:32:15-03:00",
      "end": "2026-08-10T16:47:03-03:00",
      "map": "cp_dustbowl",
      "server": "Team Fortress 2 #42",
      "friends_playing": ["medicmain99"],
      "friends_in_lobby": ["medicmain99"]
    }
  ]
}

Every field is explained in the log format reference.

4. Stop it​

Press Ctrl+C. The handler interrupts the sleep immediately, the log is written one last time, and the process prints stopped and exits with status 0.

:::info A session open at shutdown stays open Stopping SteamLogger does not close the current entry — end stays absent on purpose. On the next start the tracker sees the open entry and resumes it instead of creating a duplicate. See Session lifecycle → Resume. :::

What just happened​

Next steps​